The Loner: Rattlesnake Valley

by J. A. Johnstone

“Th-thanks,” the man gasped. He looked like he was on the verge of passing out from losing so much blood.

  A second later the man’s hand suddenly came up with a two-shot derringer cradled in it, clearly intending to take The Kid by surprise and kill him.

  He had not reckoned with the amazing reflexes of Kid Morgan, however. The Kid palmed out his Colt and fired just as the little derringer gave a wicked pop. Those weren’t the only shots to echo against the cliff face. The sharp crack of a rifle came from somewhere above The Kid. His own bullet ripped through the hard case’s body. The slug from the rifle splattered the man’s brains all over the sand. He wouldn’t have to worry about bleeding to death. He was already shaking hands with the Devil.

  The Kid turned his head to look up the slope toward the cliff. A tall, straight figure stood there with a rifle in his hands. The man wore denim trousers and a baggy white shirt. He had a blue sash tied around his waist, and a band of red cloth circled his head and held back long, iron-gray hair that blew in the wind.

  That would be Gray Hawk, The Kid thought. The Yaqui started down the slope toward him, moving carefully so that his feet, shod in rope sandals, didn’t slip on its gravelly surface.

  As Gray Hawk reached the bottom of the slope, The Kid nodded to him and said, “Much obliged for the help.” He didn’t know how well the Yaqui understood English.

  Evidently Gray Hawk understood just fine, because he returned the nod and said in a deep, powerful voice that age hadn’t weakened, “I express the same sentiment, señor. You and I killed this dog at the same time, but you dispatched four of them before that.”

  “Actually, I just killed two of them,” The Kid said. “The other two are still alive.”

  Gray Hawk held his Winchester at his side in his left hand. At The Kid’s words, his empty right hand stole toward the sash around his waist. The blade of the knife tucked behind the sash gleamed in the morning sun.

  “I can deal with them,” the Yaqui said. His voice was expressionless, but it was all the more grim because of that.

  The Kid shook his head. “I want them alive. Miss Starbird and I will take them to Diamondback.”

  For the first time, The Kid saw some animation in the Indian’s dark eyes and a slight softening in the coppery, hawklike features that had been seamed and weathered by time.

  “The señorita is with you?” Gray Hawk asked. “I thought she might see my smoke.”

  The Kid nodded. “That’s right. I left her back there in the ravine.”

  He half turned to gesture toward the mouth of the cleft in the ridge, then froze as he saw Diana being forced out by the man who’d been holding the horses. The hard case had his left arm looped tightly around her neck, and his right hand held a gun pressed to her head.

  Chapter 21

  Diana’s mouth moved soundlessly. She couldn’t say anything because of the arm pressed against her throat, but The Kid thought it looked like she was trying to curse.

  He didn’t doubt that for a second. He felt like cursing, too, and directing most of the angry words toward himself for leaving an enemy alive behind him, even an unconscious one.

  But Diana came in for some of that anger. If she had stayed put, like he’d told her, she wouldn’t have been where Malone’s man could grab her.

  She had grown impatient as well as worried, standing there listening to all the gunfire. No doubt she had wanted to see what was going on and make sure that The Kid and Gray Hawk were all right, especially when the guns fell silent. The Kid could imagine her creeping through the ravine, past the horses and the unconscious hard case, who hadn’t really been unconscious at all as he got to his feet and slipped up behind her…

  Such speculation was pointless, The Kid told himself. All that really mattered was that Diana was a prisoner, a hostage with a gun at her head.

  “Drop ’em!” the man screeched at The Kid and Gray Hawk. “Drop those guns right now, or I’ll kill her!”

  “No, you won’t,” The Kid said. He forced his voice to sound calm. “You know as well as we do that if you pull that trigger, you’ll be dead two seconds later. You won’t have time to kill either of us before we put lead in you.”

  “We will not stop, either,” Gray Hawk said. “We will continue firing until you are so full of holes el Diablo himself will not recognize you.”

  The hard case looked shaken by the threats, but he wasn’t ready to back down just yet. “Maybe so,” he said, “but the girl will still be dead.”

  “What is it you want?” The Kid asked.

  “I told you.” The man’s voice trembled a little. “Drop your guns.”

  Slowly, The Kid shook his head. “That’s not going to happen. You let go of Miss Starbird, and maybe we’ll let you get on one of those horses and ride out of here with your whole hide.”

  The man looked tempted, but he didn’t loosen his grip on Diana. “I know as soon as I let go of her, you’ll shoot me,” he said. “I can’t risk it.”

  “Back up toward the ravine,” The Kid suggested. “When you’re far enough back that you can’t see us and we can’t see you, you can let go of her. That’ll give you a chance to get mounted and make it around the first bend before we can come after you.”

  “Maybe…but you’ll still come after me.”

  “No,” The Kid promised. “We won’t. Because I want you to go back to Black Terence and tell him what happened here. Tell him that whatever reason he had for trying to grab Gray Hawk, it failed. Tell him Greavy and those other men are dead, and that we have two more of his men prisoner.”

  “Greavy’s dead?” the man repeated in an awed voice, as if he couldn’t believe that anybody could kill the ugly little gunman. “You got the drop on him from behind?”

  The Kid shook his head again. “Took him on straight up and beat him to the draw.”

  The gunman let out a startled whistle. “I didn’t think anybody was faster’n Greavy.”

  “There’s always somebody faster,” The Kid said. “Now, are you going to take the deal? You know it’s the only way you’ll get out of here alive.”

  “Yeah…yeah, hold on, lemme think.” The man started backing toward the ravine, taking Diana with him. “Don’t shoot. I got your word, right?”

  “My word,” The Kid confirmed with a nod.

  He saw Diana’s eyes blazing with anger, and he knew she didn’t like the fact that he was making a deal with one of Malone’s men. She would rather have taken her chances in a shootout, The Kid supposed. But he wasn’t going to risk her life needlessly, and besides, he really did want the gunman to carry that message back to Malone. The mocking words might provoke Malone into a rage that would make him do something stupid.

  The gunman vanished from sight in the dark mouth of the ravine. Diana had no choice but to go with him. But a second later, she came back into view, stumbling forward as if the man had given her a hard shove. With a cry of mingled pain and fury, she fell to her knees.

  The Kid leaped forward to run to her side. Gray Hawk was right behind him. By the time he and the Yaqui reached Diana, they could both hear the frantic pounding of hoofbeats as the hard case fled up the ravine.

  “I hope you’re happy with yourself!” Diana cried as she looked up at The Kid. “You let him get away!”

  “One hired gunnie more or less doesn’t make any difference,” he said. “Malone’s the one who matters, and he’s not here.”

  Diana scrambled to her feet, pointedly ignoring the helping hand that The Kid extended toward her. She turned to the Yaqui and asked anxiously, “Gray Hawk, are you all right?”

  “Sí, señorita. Those men thought to slip up on Gray Hawk and take him by surprise.” A faint smile curved the old Indian’s mouth. “They were foolish to believe that they could do such a thing.”

  “Very foolish indeed,” Diana agreed. “I’m glad you holed up in your cave and sent signals to me, as we agreed you would do if you ever found yourself in trouble.”

  The Kid looked at her. �
��You didn’t tell me you had a whole system worked out.”

  “I didn’t think it was any of your business,” she said. “You were coming with me to help Gray Hawk, and that was all I cared about.”

  The Kid turned his attention back to the Yaqui. “Do you have any idea why Malone would want to capture you?”

  “None, señor. I have nothing to do with what goes on in the valley. All I want is to be left alone here in the mountains to live in peace.”

  The Kid frowned as he thought. “Malone knows how fond of you Diana is, though,” he mused.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” she asked.

  “Malone might think that if he got his hands on Gray Hawk here, he could use him as leverage against you, to get you to do something Malone wants you to do.”

  Diana paled. “Like agree to marry him? And he’d threaten to kill Gray Hawk if I didn’t?”

  The Kid shrugged. “Could be. It’s just a possibility. I don’t know how Malone thinks.”

  “It’s just the sort of evil thing he’d do,” she declared.

  Gray Hawk said, “Whatever this man wants with me, you need not worry, señorita. He will never take me alive.”

  “I know,” Diana said, “because you’re coming back to the ranch with us, Gray Hawk.”

  The Yaqui frowned and shook his head. “That is not the place for me. I belong here, in the mountains.”

  “Didn’t you tell me that you traveled all over the West when you were younger and had all sorts of adventures?”

  Gray Hawk inclined his head in acknowledgment of that point. “As you say, I was younger then. Now I am old and care not for traveling.”

  “It’s only a few miles to Diamondback. And you’d be safe there.”

  “I am safe here.”

  “You can’t be sure of that,” Diana argued. “Malone may come after you with all his men. If you’re alone, you might not be able to stop them. Come with us, so that I can know that you’re safe.”

  “Better yet,” The Kid said, “come with us so you can help us keep Malone from taking over the whole valley.”

  He thought that the possibility of getting in on the fight might appeal more to Gray Hawk’s nature. Judging by the sudden flare of interest in the Yaqui’s dark eyes, The Kid’s hunch was right.

  “I have battled against many evil men in my time…” Gray Hawk said.

  “I don’t doubt it. We can use your help.”

  Gray Hawk studied him intently. “Who are you, señor? I took you at first for one of the men who ride for the señorita and her uncle, but now I see that you are a different sort of man.”

  “They call me Kid Morgan. I’m not from around here, but I’ve thrown in with Miss Starbird and her uncle against Malone. I don’t like pirates, and it looks like he hasn’t changed any since the old days.”

  “Morgan,” Gray Hawk repeated as his eyes widened slightly. “I once knew a man called Morgan. A good man, with a fast gun like yours.”

  The Kid wasn’t surprised that Gray Hawk had run into his father sometime in the past. Frank Morgan had gotten around, traveling all over the West many times, and wherever trouble broke out, The Drifter usually wasn’t far off.

  He didn’t want to explain all that to Gray Hawk and Diana, though, so he just said, “Maybe your old friend and I are related.”

  “Perhaps,” Gray Hawk said. He drew in a deep breath. “All right. I will come to the ranch with you. But remember…you promised me another fight against this man Malone.”

  “You’ll get it,” The Kid said.

  With Gray Hawk’s help, The Kid tied up the other two men he had knocked out and hoisted them onto their horses, draping them over their saddles and lashing them in place. The men were starting to come around, and as their senses returned to them, they howled and cursed bitterly at the uncomfortable predicament in which they found themselves. The Kid ignored their complaints.

  Despite Gray Hawk’s obvious age, he was still vital and seemed to be as strong as a horse. Hints of the natural savagery of his people lurked in his eyes, too. He would make a good ally in the fight against Malone.

  It might be time to take that fight to Malone, instead of waiting to see what he would come up with next. Some of the smaller ranchers in the valley had had their barns burned down to make them toe Malone’s line, Diana had said. Malone wouldn’t like it if he lost a barn or two.

  Since they had the extra horses, they also loaded the bodies onto the animals. Diana had been upset that the men who’d attacked the line shack hadn’t received a decent burial. It wouldn’t cost much time and trouble to see that the three corpses got laid to rest properly, although to The Kid’s way of thinking that was more consideration than they deserved, especially Greavy. The hands on the ranch could bury them, though.

  Leading the horses, The Kid and Gray Hawk started toward Diamondback. Diana rode a short distance in front. The men were alert and kept an eye out for any signs of trouble, but they didn’t run into more of Malone’s gun-wolves or anything else that delayed them. It was still morning when they rode up to the ranch headquarters.

  Diamondback had visitors, The Kid saw. A buggy was parked in front of the house.

  “Who’s that?” he called to Diana.

  “I don’t have any idea,” she replied with a shake of her head as she turned in the saddle to look back at him. The screen door banged and she hipped around to the front again.

  Two people stepped onto the porch. The Kid recognized the tall, broad-shouldered figure of Jefferson Parnell, the newspaperman from Bristol.

  Standing beside Parnell, wearing a neat, bottle-green outfit with a plumed hat of the same shade, was the owner of the Rattler’s Den, Sophia Kincaid.

  Chapter 22

  The Kid noticed how Diana stiffened in the saddle at the sight of Sophia. On the porch, Sophia’s chin took on a defiant tilt as she returned Diana’s glare. The two women didn’t like each other, that was for sure.

  With the thump of crutches, Owen Starbird appeared in the doorway. Parnell quickly opened the screen, saying, “Let me get that for you, sir.”

  “Thank you,” Starbird said as he awkwardly came onto the porch. “Diana, are you all right? Rocklin told me how you went chasing off to the mountains because of some sort of…smoke signals.”

  “Gray Hawk was in trouble,” Diana said. “I had to go help him. It’s a good thing I did, because Malone’s men were trying to capture him. If they failed at that, they were going to kill him if they could.”

  Starbird looked at the Yaqui and nodded. “Gray Hawk. It’s good to see you again. It’s been a long time since you’ve been to the ranch.”

  “It is good to see you as well, señor.”

  Starbird gave a bark of bitter laughter. “There’s nothing good about seeing me, old boy, unless you enjoy the sight of a pathetic cripple.”

  The retired naval officer might have gotten a raw deal, but The Kid was tired of listening to him feel sorry for himself, especially when so much trouble threatened the valley. He wondered, too, why Sophia and Parnell had come to Diamondback, so he asked them bluntly, “What are you two doing here?”

  “It’s my buggy,” Sophia said, “and Jefferson and I want to talk to you. He overheard something in the saloon that he thought you ought to know about, and when he told me, I agreed with him.” She made a face as she looked at the horses trailing behind The Kid and Gray Hawk, then she added hesitantly, “Are those…dead bodies on those horses?”

  “Only some of them,” The Kid drawled.

  As if to prove his point, the two who were still alive began cursing and complaining again. Sam Rocklin and some of the punchers had come up to see what was going on, and Rocklin gave one of the prisoners a hard swat on the back of the head.

  “Shut that filthy piehole, mister,” the foreman said. “There’s ladies present, if you didn’t know it…which I’m bettin’ you did.” He looked up at Starbird. “What do you want us to do with these hombres, boss?”

/>   Starbird deferred to The Kid. “Mr. Morgan? What do you suggest?”

  “I’d make sure they were tied up good and tight and stash them in the smokehouse for now,” The Kid said.

  That suggestion brought a pleased grin to Rocklin’s rugged face. “What about the ones who’re buzzard bait?”

  “Find an out-of-the-way place to bury them.”

  Rocklin nodded. “We’ll take care of it.” As he moved up alongside one of the corpses, he exclaimed, “Good Lord! Is that Greavy?”

  “Yeah,” The Kid said.

  “You done for him?”

  “He wanted to find out which one of us was faster.”

  “Reckon that was a mistake on his part, since it looks like you blowed the whole back of his head off.” Rocklin waved some flies away from the gruesome mess.

  The Kid saw both Diana and Sophia shudder at Rocklin’s blunt statement. Starbird must have noticed, too, because he said, “Take them away, please, Sam. The live ones and the dead ones.”

  “You got it, boss.” Rocklin motioned and his men took hold of the reins and led the horses toward the barn.

  With those grisly companions gone, The Kid, Diana, and Gray Hawk swung down from their saddles. Ranch hands took their horses, including the Yaqui’s pinto. As The Kid started up the steps, he said, “I want to hear more about what it was that brought you out here, Parnell.”

  “Let’s go inside,” Owen Starbird suggested. “The sun is starting to get rather warm. Sam, I want you to hear this, too.”

  Parnell held the door for him again, and Starbird clumped back inside, followed by the others. Diana and Sophia kept their distance as they eyed each other warily. Gray Hawk looked a little uncomfortable, and from the way the Yaqui kept glancing around, The Kid figured he wasn’t used to being inside a house and didn’t like it very much. The Diamondback ranch house was a far cry from a cave in the side of a mountain…but from the looks of it, Gray Hawk preferred the cave.

  “Carmelita!” Starbird called to the servant. “We have guests for dinner.”